Parks Officials Take One Step Closer to Closing The Rapids Waterslides

Parks officials approved a new vision for the Shadow Cliffs Regional Recreation Area that calls for removing — a fixture since the 1980s — and making room for additional trails, vegetation, picnic areas and other changes.

The East Bay Regional Park District Board of Directors voted 7-0 in favor of the land use amendment plan in Oakland on Tuesday.

The plan could take eight to 10 years to put into place, which means the slides wouldn't close for awhile, parks officials said.

The slides' Facebook page thanked supporters after hearing the news, saying operators are happy to have a decadelong reprieve.

The district’s plan also calls for re-grading the areas that once were quarried in the western and central part of the park, which includes the section with the waterslides.

Other changes include adding wetlands, habitats and a splash pad, which could have a variety of water features for children, such as a spray fountain that would be safe for small children, board members said.

The park is at 2500 Stanley Blvd., and the waterslides open Memorial Day Weekend for the summer season.

According to the district, the changes would create a more parklike and natural atmosphere at Shadow Cliffs.

“It will add to the opportunities (at the park),” said Ayn Wieskamp, a park district Ward 5 board member who represents the Tri-Valley area.

The plan also would make use out of land that is now barren, and add amenities such as classrooms and areas for the public to rent, she said.

But it will take years and a yet-to-be-determined funding source to for the land use amendment plan to become reality, said Brian Wiese, the district’s chief of planning and stewardship.

“There is no immediate next step,” he said. “The main thing is that we have a land use amendment plan in place.”

Possible funding for the plan could come from state and federal grants, Wiese said.

Parks officials said the idea of eliminating the waterslides has gotten a mixed reaction. But only a handful of people addressed the board about the issue during its meeting Tuesday or at a previous meeting in late April, when a vote on the plan was continued.

The land use amendment was created when waterslide operator Glenn Kierstead was unable to get financing in 2008 to expand the slides.

District officials attributed the financing woes to the fact that they only authorized a short-term lease for Kierstead to operate the slides. The year-to-year lease stipulates that the district receives 4 percent of the revenues generated by the slides, and district officials said they don’t believe that waterslides are a viable part of the park’s future without an expansion.

Kierstead’s lease is up at the end of the year, and the district plans on taking requests for proposals for him or someone else to operate the slides. Kierstead opened the slides in 1981.

“It’s disappointing that we would have to go to a request for proposal after 30 years,” said Patricia Knutson, Kierstead’s assistant.

“It’s disheartening that we have to compete against people who don’t have anything to do with the park.”

Knutson also indicated that her boss is not happy with the plans to take the slides out. The public has shown its support for the slides on Facebook and the slides’ website, and the slides are unique, she said.

“We serve a different purpose than the larger parks," she said.

"Our slides are only a small fee — it’s a different type of facility. There’s nothing like it in the Bay Area.”